E-Boland & Gang Green

Brett Favre said the crash-course portion of his season when it comes to learning the playbook is about over.

“We’re not cramming really,” Favre said. “We’re kind of going back. We’re kind of rehashing some of the things we’ve done well, some of the things that could have been done well, really narrowing down, not so much adding. Maybe adding something off a play that worked well. A different formation, personnel group, something like that. But we’ve got enough really to go into the rest of the season and have success with.”

[* An interjection to reader BigM, who posted this under my previous entry: “Im sure one reporter will say ‘So Favre, Do you now feel like your on the same page with your WR's? Is the chemistry finally there??’
Mmm, sigh. I was hoping not…but BigM was pretty close].

Anyway, back to learning the terminology of the playbook. Damien Woody and Chris Baker had some interesting recollections about Favre’s early struggles with it.

“Now the way I can tell is he’s not forgetting the play call in the huddle, now it’s like he just knows it now,” Damien Woody said. “Once you get to that point, you just go out and play football. I think he definitely he’s more comfortable in the offense, guys are more comfortable with him calling the plays. We’re more in sync, so now I think you’ll start to see his true abilities start to come out on the football field. And by no means is this a finished product. I think it’s going to get better and better.”

Baker smiled when I asked him to compare Favre in the huddle now to the first few training camp practices.

“It’s been a dramatic jump,” Baker said. “We do have a pretty complex offense and just to call the play out was for tough for him early on. A couple times we just got the play, we didn’t get a formation or the protection, things like that, back in camp. But he’s really evolved and he’s obviously had to study a lot and he’s taken ownership and he really understands what we’re trying to do and the concept of everything we’ve done. There’s been a lot of effort put into it and I guess you could say you saw some of the results of that on Sunday.”

* Not too much from the 35 minutes we were able to watch practice. We watched Reggie Hodges punt for the first portion of the practice. Nothing great; nothing horrible. A couple of good hits downfield, though not consistently. But no shanks, either.

Hodges, still recovering from a hamstring injury, took to the sideline exercise bicycles for the final part of the time we were out there. James Dearth was also on a bicycle. Kris Jenkins, limited much of last week, didn’t appear, in the time we were outside, limited in any way.

* Eric Mangini on David Clowney and Mike Nugent: I’d say they’re both making significant strides. David hopefully will be involved to some degree either this week or next week.”

* Mangini on Eric Smith's suspension: "I definitely support the Commissioner's initiative to protect the players and to do everything possible to promote player safety. But I'll just reiterate that Eric Smith, he's a good player, he's a good person, and he'd never do anything intentionally to harm somebody else."

* Laveranues Coles caught three touchdowns Sunday and treated each of the footballs differently. The first one he handed to a kid in the crowd, the second he kept for himself and the third he signed and gave to Favre, who very much appreciated the gesture. As for the kid, Coles said he spotted him before the game.

“I saw him early,” Coles said. “As a player, you’re always scouring the stands to see just how many of your jerseys are up there, to see how popular you are. Of course, I’m outnumbered by No. 4, but that’s to be expected. But anytime I see one of my jerseys, I say ‘Man, he’s got my jersey on, he must really like me.’”

* Irving’s Delicatessen in nearby Livingston, N.J. brought a huge selection of sandwiches, salads and desserts into the press room today for lunch. The word tremendous doesn’t even begin to cover it.

* We’re back again tomorrow for this week’s final practice and player availability. And, again, Live Chat VII here on this blog at 11 a.m. Thursday morning.

With this being the Jets bye week, the team had meetings yesterday and will practice today (Tuesdays are normally an off day) and tomorrow before having a long weekend. It should allow for the Jets, and hopefully some of the writers covering them, to catch up on their social lives. Or start one.

Anywhoo, we'll have Eric Mangini in the press room at 10:15 a.m., followed by Brett Favre. Hopefully, he won't be asked about the process of "getting on the same page" (yecht) with his receivers. Keeping the fingers crossed. After Favre we'll head to the locker room and see what Eric Smith has to say about his suspension and what other players have to say about Sunday and what's ahead for this team that, given the schedule, has a decent chance to get on a bit of roll. Our 35 minutes at practice follows all that so I'll be back after that. Also, this reminder: Live Chat VII will be Thursday morning at 11.

Here is the just-released statement from the league:

"Safety Eric Smith of the New York Jets has been suspended for one game and fined $50,000 for a flagrant violation of player safety rules, the NFL announced today. Specifically, on a pass play on Sunday, Smith engaged in helmet-to-helmet contact with Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Anquan Boldin, who was in a defenseless position at the time contact was made.

The suspension will sideline Smith for the Jets’ game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, October 12 following the Jets bye on October 5. The $50,000 fine includes the game check Smith will forfeit for the week of his suspension.

Smith’s actions violated Rule 12, Section 2, Article 8(g) of the NFL Official Playing Rules, which prohibit:

“…using any part of a player’s helmet (including the top/crown and forehead/‘hairline’ parts) or facemask to butt, spear, or ram an opponent violently or unnecessarily; although such violent or unnecessary use of the helmet is impermissible against any opponent, game officials will give special attention in administering this rule to protect those players who are in virtually defenseless postures.”

On September 17, Commissioner Roger Goodell specifically advised all players of his intention to strictly enforce playing rules that promote safety on the field:

“Player safety on the field is important to all of us in the NFL. Football is a tough game and we need to do everything possible to protect all players – offense, defense, and special teams – from unnecessary injury caused by illegal and dangerous hits. From this point forward, you should be clear on the following point: Any conduct that unnecessarily risks the safety of other players has no role in the game of football and will be disciplined at increased levels, including on a first offense."

Smith, speaking today before the suspension was announced, insisted he didn't intentionally lead with his helmet and though the Jets didn’t categorize it as such, Smith sure sounded like someone who had suffered a concussion. He said he remembered only up until the play before the hit and that he was still somewhat groggy. Smith said he got word from Jets safety Abram Elam, a childhood friend of Boldin’s who spoke to Boldin’s mother Sunday night, that the receiver was doing all right.

“I felt better about it, but you still feel bad,” Smith said.

Back after doing some newspaper stuff.

* UPDATE: Well, not really an update, but here's some additional stuff. First, HOF poster R in CT asked about this. A replay of Sunday's Jets game will be shown at 8 p.m. tomorrow (Tuesday) on the NFL Network. So there you go.

Also from today: The Jets released Ben Graham, who kicked a couple more line-drive punts Sunday, for the second time in three weeks. That would seem to indicate Reggie Hodges, signed Sept. 16 to replace Graham but almost immediately sidelined with a thigh injury, is ready to return. The team also announced OL Will Montgomery, waived Sept. 25 when Hank Poteat was signed, had been re-signed to the active roster. WR Paul Raymond was released from the practice squad.

* AND Jesse Chatman, suspended the first four games for violating the NFL Policy on Steroids and Related Substances, was back in the locker room. Chatman admitted to using a masking agent but declined to specify the reason for using it, only that it was not to mask any kind of steroid or performance-enhancing substance.

“There’s a lot of particulars that go with it that I just care not to go into,” said Chatman, who has battled weight problems throughout his career. “The public’s going to think what they’re going to think but hopefully they’ll know that I’m not a cheater and I never have been.”

An exemption will allow Chatman to practice with the team this week, though the Jets will have to make a roster move next week to fit the running back on the roster

Kris Jenkins is as good a place as any to start, for when someone commended him yesterday on his blocked field goal, the big nose tackle offered this, smiling of course:

"Well, I would hope I didn't waste Woody's money by coming out here and doing nothing."

His analysis of the play?

“I just ran the snapper over.”

Indeed.

For those interested in trivia, that was the first blocked field goal by the Jets since Bryan Thomas blocked a Stephen Gostkowski attempt Sept. 17, 2006.

* Gregarious might be a bit strong but the Jets were a pretty happy team after yesterday’s victory in which they scored the second-most points in team history. The statistics were impressive across the board, led by Brett Favre’s six TD passes and Laveranues Coles’ breakout game (8 receptions, 105 yards, 3 TDs). Favre spread the ball to eight different receivers.

* Speaking of Favre, I didn’t see any of those “Coles still pining for Pennington” stories today for some reason.

* The Jets refrained all week from calling yesterday a “must-win” game, which made sense because if things don’t go your way and you lose that game, where does that leave you? But Shaun Ellis, after yesterday’s game, gave a pretty good answer about what the Cardinals’ game meant, especially after what happened the previous Monday in San Diego.

“Monday night was a complete let-down,” Ellis said. “It was very frustrating. We wanted to come out and show we are a good football team, and we could play.”

* Eric Mangini on the momentum change between the second and third quarters, as disparate two quarters as anyone in either locker room had ever seen:

“I can tell you I enjoyed the second quarter a lot more than I enjoyed the third quarter. I was part of both of them and I can tell you I liked the second quarter a lot better.”

* The Jets’ five sacks increased their season total to 13, tied for third-best in the league. Just for fun, through four games last season the Jets sack total was three. Inside those numbers: David Bowens had two sacks yesterday, his first two-sack game since his Miami days, when he recorded two Nov. 27, 2005 at Oakland…Thomas’ third-quarter sack was his team-best fourth this season and gave him 21.5 for his career…Shaun Ellis recorded his third sack this season, increasing his career total to 56.5, which ranks him fourth on the Jets all-time list.

* It wasn’t entirely positive yesterday. Safety Eric Smith is facing – likely – at the very least a fine, and at worst some kind of suspension for his hit on Anquan Boldin. Our NFL columnist Bob Glauber weighed in on that this morning. Also, there has to be concern regarding the defense looking helpless in the third quarter against the Cardinals’ two-minute offense.

“We have to put our foot down and stop things like that,” Darrelle Revis said afterward.

But, while 35 second-half points didn’t look good, forcing seven turnovers and recording five sacks did.

* The schedule today: Mangini’s Monday After press conference at 3:40 followed by locker room availability at 4. A little bit of an altered schedule this week because of the bye: the Jets will practice Tuesday and Wednesday this week, then are off through the weekend and back at it next Monday.

* An Aside, Part I: Because of the bye week, as I mentioned above, the Jets will not be off tomorrow, making the previously scheduled live chat here decidedly inconvenient. So we will have Live Chat VII – from the World’s Most Famous Futon – Thursday morning at 11. You have been notified.

* An Aside, Part II: I have someone Eric Mangini should get on his staff post haste. I worked in Warren, Ohio awhile back and I still occasionally read on line the paper – the Warren Tribune Chronicle – I used to write for. I came across this quote from Ursuline High School coach Dan Reardon about one of his players, a running back, who was injured during last Friday's game.

“No comment,” he said when asked about it. “He’s a minor so it’s against the law for me to comment on a medical condition.”

Against the law?? I emailed the writer, Lou Cali Jr., to see if this coach was serious and, apparently, he was. Hysterical. That rivals any non-answer about an injury Mangini has ever given.

And with that, time to leave the Island and head to Fort Florham. We have a new saying around here: the Triborough is your friend. Thank you, Robert Moses (and the many readers who suggested it weeks ago instead of the Cross Bronx). Back after the locker room.

About an hour before this one and it's still pouring at the Meadowlands. But you probably already knew that. The inactives:

Jets: K Mike Nugent, Brett Ratliff (3rd QB), P Reggie Hodges, QB Erik Ainge, WR David Clowney, CB Justin Miller, LB Marques Murrell, DL Kareem Brown.

Cardinals: Brian St. Pierre (3rd QB), SS Adian Wilson, RB J.J. Arrington, T Brandon Keith, WR Early Doucet, TE Jerame Tuman, DE Bertrand Berry, DT Gabe Watson.

Live-blogging action coming your way later here with a Newsday staffer-to-be named. I'll be back later tonight. Enjoy the afternoon.

Stephen Haynes here (you aren't sick of me yet, are you?) to chat with you for a few hours. I'll be providing updates, comments, censored-but-candid opinions... and stuff.

OK, so maybe the Jets will have to wait until Week 6 for that "easy schedule" stuff to kick in. Because when the schedule came out long before the season, and when everyone played the “Win, Loss, Win, Win” game (that everyone plays), you might’ve had the Cardinals down as a pencil-it-in win – especially if Matt Leinart was starting. Fast forward a few months: he’s not and they’re not. The Jets could realistically enter their bye week at 1-3, behind the 4-0 Bills. And, with Buffalo facing the Rams today, 4-0 is likely.

This isn’t a Must Win game (those don’t exist in Week 4), but it’s kind of a must-win game. Perhaps more for the team's psyche than for the standings. After all the off-season additions, the acquisition of Big Kahuna No. 4 and the good training camp vibes, three straight losses and a dip to last place might affect morale and get the doubts creeping in. And doubts, like bed bugs, bite. Or gradually eat away at the foundation like termites. Pick a simile.

But on the flip side, if they go into the bye at 2-2 with the Bengals, Raiders and Chiefs on the slate – followed by a shot at the Bills – optimism (the genuine kind, too) will be in abundance. So…

Keys to the Game

Offense
- Attack the right side of the Cardinals defensive line. They’re giving up 5.29 yards per carry at right defensive end, and Bertrand Berry being out probably won’t help them there. Arizona’s run defense isn’t horrible (allowing 102 yards/game) and their speed at linebacker helps in pursuit on stretch plays, but the right side is the weak side. As well, the Jets are getting 4.97 yards per tote running around left tackle. Not so much luck directly behind D'Brickashaw Ferguson, but around, yes.

- Stop defensive tackle Darnell Dockett. At 285 pounds he’s a bit undersized, but he’s a talented pass-rusher on the inside (nine sacks in 2007). He hasn’t had one yet this year, but he’s a threat. Alan Faneca will have to control him.

- Attack the secondary deep a few times. The Cardinals have yet to give up a pass play of 40 yards, but Pro-Bowl safety Adrian Wilson is out with a bad hamstring. Behind him on the depth chart is Aaron Francisco, who has started just five games in four seasons. At free safety is Antrel Rolle. Yes, the former cornerback. He's got good speed back there, but it's possible (probable, probably) that he's still adjusting to the new position and isn't completely comfortable there yet. Why not test him? Arizona’s pass rush isn’t great – and Berry, their best rusher, is out – so the Jets can afford to use some 3- and 4-receiver sets to pressure that secondary.

Defense
- Blitz Kurt Warner. Blitz Kurt Warner a lot. He’s gotten good protection through three games, but the Jets have to see for themselves. Warner has a tendency to go stretches where he locks onto his “Z” receiver (Larry Fitzgerald in this case) and he often holds the ball too long, looking for the big play. If the Jets can get around that offensive line, they’ll have their shots at him. Warner has thrown to his tight ends just eight times and Edgerrin James has just one reception. Which means the Cardinals probably wouldn't make the Jets pay too much underneath and/or over the middle if they send the linebackers.

- Force a couple turnovers. That's obviously an obvious key, and obviously, it's easier said than done, but it’s almost imperative in this game. Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin are the best wideout tandem in the league and it’s near impossible to shut both of them down. They’re physical, run good routes and can beat press coverage. So unless the front 7 is battering Warner and forcing fumbles, three-down stops will probably be hard to come by. A key turnover or two would help compensate for that. And Warner throws some balls into traffic, so the Jets will have their chances. They’ve got to capitalize. Obviously.

With Kris Jenkins back and James no longer being a threat to gash a defense with long runs (he hasn’t broken a 30-yarder since 2005), the Jets should be able to commit both safeties to coverage.

1st Quarter
Nothing doing. A turnover for each team and the Jets will begin the second quarter from the Cardinals 2, facing a 2nd & goal. Score: zip-zip.

Recap: Leon Washington got the first two carries for the Jets, so he started the game. How the carries are split in this game will be something to look for. And speculate about, since Thomas Jones had 37 yards last week against the Chargers... The Jets forced fumbles on back-to-back snaps and Hank Poteat recovered the second one. The Cardinals had been moving the ball and reached the Jets' 9. A Favre interception put the Cardinals back in scoring range, but a blocked field goal kiboshed that. As was mentioned in the keys to the game, turnovers are often Trucco-Sebastian makeup for errors....

2nd Quarter
- Touchdown Jets. Favre connects with Laveranues Coles on a 12-yard touchdown at 14:50 to cap the 10-play, 49-yard drive. 7-0, Jets
- Touchdown Jets. Darrelle Revis jumped a curl route, intercepted a Warner pass for Boldin and took it back 32 yards for the score at 13:25. 14-0, Jets
- Touchdown Jets. Favre hits Coles for a 34-yard touchdown at 7:25. Cornerback Eric Green got injured on the play, leaving Coles wide open on a go route up the sidelines. The drive lasted four plays and netted 83 yards. 21-0, Jets
- Field goal Jets. Jay Feely connects from 20 yards on his second try. He missed on his first attempt from 22 yards, but a roughing the kicker call gave the Jets a second chance. The drive was setup by an Eric Smith interception that gave the Jets the ball at the 19. 24-0, Jets
- Touchdown Jets. Favre hits Coles on a fade route for two yards. Coles has caught a career-high three touchdowns. And, with Jay Feely's extra point, the Jets set a franchise-record with 31 points in a quarter. 31-0, Jets
- Field goal Jets. Jay Feely hits a 30-yard field goal. The play was setup by the David Bowens sack, fumble force and recovery. Feeley booted it with 0:02 left and time expired as it went through. He, of course, adds to the franchise record for points in a quarter. 34-0, Jets

Highlights: Turnovers. Both teams have given it away and taken it away, but the Jets' 5 > the Cardinals' 1. Poteat's recovery of a James fumble kept at least three points (probably) off the board for Arizona, the blocked field goal defintely kept the Cards from three points, and the Revis pick-6 gave, obviously (it's the word of the day), gave the Jets a direct +7 and Eric Smith's interception put the Jets in the red zone for a field goal and the Bowens recovery of a Warner fumble gave the Jets a field goal just before the half... Favre has gotten great protection and has taken advantage of it with three touchdowns to Coles (5 catches for 82 yards). He's 13-for-20 with 154 yards. The one sack he took was on the 2-minute drive and it was more his own fault as he held the ball about seven seconds. His one glaring mistake was a swing pass thrown across the field and across his body that was picked off. Granted, a defensive lineman had jumped offsides (no flag, though) and Favre might've thought that he had a free play... The Jets defense hasn't really looked dominant, but they've certainly been opportunistic, taking advantge of almost all of Warner's mistakes. He was sacked three times and fumbled each time, and he's been intercepted twice, both times because he held the ball too long and stared down his intended target.

Halftime: 34-0, Jets

3rd Quarter
- Touchdown Cardinals. Edgerrin James powers through for a four-yard touchdown to finish a six-play, 79-yard drive. 34-7, Jets
- Touchdown Cardinals. James gets in from two yards out. Then he got in from two yards out again on the two-point conversion. The Cardinals drive lasted 13 plays (5 minutes, 41 seconds) and went 76 yards. 34-15, Jets
- Touchdown Cardinals. Tim Hightower ran for a one-yard score that capped a six-play, 54-yard drive. The drive, so soon after the Cardinals' last score, was made possible by the attempt and recovery (Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie) of an onside kick. The Cardinals failed on the two-point try. 34-21, Jets

Recap: The score says it all. It was all Cardinals. The offense seemed to get untracked, or the Jets defense let up. One or the other or a combo, either way it adds up to 21 unanswered points in the quarter. The Jets defense wasn't able to pressure Warner much and the receivers made some nice plays in traffic. Boldin has been held in check, but it's been Steve Breaston who has picked up the slack with 6 catches for 69 yards and some big first downs.

4th Quarter
- Touchdown Jets. Jerricho Cotchery caught a 17-yarder from Favre to finish the 12-play, 80-yard answer-back drive. 41-21, Jets with 11:50 left.
- Touchdown Cardinals. Boldin snags an eight-yard touchdown from Warner, who was 6-for-6 on the drive. Arizona went 62 yards in six plays and just over two minutes. 41-28, Jets with 9:49 left.
- Touchdown Jets. Cotchery hauls in a 40-yard pass from Favre, finishing the four-play, 49-yard drive. The defense was fooled on a play-fake and Cotchery was able to get a couple steps on the secondary. The pass was Favre's fifth touchdown. 48-28, Jets with 7:26 left.
- Touchdown Cardinals. Warner hits Jeremy Urban for 14 yards in the end zone. The drive went 66 yards on six plays. 48-35, Jets with 4:49 left.
- Touchdown Jets. Favre hits Dustin Keller for a 24-yard score that ends a four-play, 29-yard drive. The Jets convert the two-pointer with a run up the middle by Washington. The touchdown was Favre's sixth, setting a career-high (if you're wondering: the single-game NFL record is seven, set by the Bears' Sid Luckman against the Giants in 1943). 56-35, Jets with 1:04 left.

Final: 56-35, Jets

With the win, the Jets improve to 2-2. The Cardinals drop to 2-2.

Notes & Stats
The 56 points were the second most scored by the Jets in their history. The record is 62, set in a 62-18 win over the Buccaneers on Nov. 17, 1985. Ken O'Brien went 23-for-30 with 367 yards and five touchdowns in that (no-) contest.

Brett Favre completed 24 of 34 for 289 yards and a career-high six touchdowns. He threw a first quarter interception, but by the time he lofted his sixth touchdown, that was long forgotten.

Thomas Jones had a game-high 18 carries for 46 yards. Leon Washington, who started the game, finished with seven carries for 26 yards and four catches for 17.... Laveranues Coles caught eight passes for 105 yards and a career-high three touchdowns. Jerricho Cotchery had four catches for 67 yards and two touchdowns.... Dwight Lowery had a game-high nine tackles (all solo) and forced a fumble... Darrelle Revis had four tackles and two interceptions.

Kurt Warner had a good fantasy football game with 472 yards and two touchdowns. But there were the seven turnovers (three interceptions and four fumbles lost)... Steve Breaston and Larry Fitzgerald each had 122 receiving yards and Anquan Boldin caught 10 passes for 119 yards and a score before suffering an injury on Arizona's final drive and getting carted off the field... Chike Okeafor led the Cardinals defense with six tackles, a sack and an interception.

Henry David Thoreau wrote, “Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.”

But we know exactly what we’re after here every Friday: hooking the big fish of picking against the spread. Some weeks you get the fish, some weeks you’re Jonah but, regardless, there’s always another week to cast your line. What the h – am I talking about? I went 11-5 in Week 1, won like three games in Week 2, but recovered with some good work last weekend to move to 24-22-1 on the season. Now, if you’re into early-season trends, that roller coaster would portend to bad things for me this weekend. Still, the season stops for no one, other than the Rams for whom it stopped before it started. The other games in a bit, but to the big one from our perspective in this blog:

The Jets were awful Monday, bringing to mind the old John McKay line to a reporter after another bad loss during the Bucs’ first season: “Well, we didn’t block. And we made up for it by not tackling.”

Or, for the Jets Monday, covering, coaching or accomplishing much of anything other than on special teams.

Sunday brings the Cardinals and their scary-good receivers, Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, to the Meadowlands. As an aside, it’s always nice returning to the Meadowlands as I, in some form or another, will get to see, in no particular order, three favorites of mine: Newsday’s NFL columnist Bob Glauber, who thinks the Giants are playing; the NY Times’ outstanding national writer Judy Battista, whose observations about the league are always insightful to hear; and Jenn Sterger, just because.

So this game was one, when the schedule came out, most chalked up as an automatic win but not so much anymore with the Cards off to a 2-1 start and quite close to being 3-0. Is this a must-win for the Jets? Not really and I hesitate to put that title on any September game. But at home, before the bye week, for a team that entered the season with playoff expectations and has lost two straight, this is one a good team wins. Period.

I liked this quote from Kerry Rhodes on Wednesday: “I wish we could play today, except my body’s not ready yet. We want to get out and try to get that bad taste out of our mouths from the game Monday. It’s another chance to prove we’re a good team; that we can get it done. We want to get out there.”

Translation: well, there really isn’t need for one. The Jets were embarrassed by what happened on national television and want to prove something, to the fans but to themselves most all. I think the Jets will come out much the way the Chargers did last week in front of a rabid Qualcomm Stadium crowd. Naturally, that would exclude an INT return for a touchdown from the quarterback on his first throw [Rivers to Barrett], but the larger point is how quickly San Diego was able to overcome that. They (cliche alert!) weren't going to be denied.

The Jets caught a bit of a break on offense with Cardinals defensive end Bertrand Berry – the team-leader in sacks – getting sent back to Arizona with a severe groin injury. The Jets offensive line actually played pretty decent last Monday and Favre should have time to throw Sunday. It is also very much time to get Thomas Jones consistently involved in the offense – his per carry average is 4.2 – and Leon Washington needs to start seeing the ball in space as well. There was also talk this week – much of it from Favre – about the Jets discovering something in Monday’s woebegone second half with the effectiveness of their empty-set packages. I think we’ll see some of that Sunday.

Kurt Warner isn’t very mobile so Bob Sutton should bring the house early and often. More blitzing isn’t always the panacea people think it is but in this case, it is. Covering a slot receiver – a problem over the first three games – would help, too. As for covering Boldin and Fitzgerald, I like the Jets chances there. While that duo is the best in the NFL statistically, the Cardinals aren’t the Chargers where the list of guys on offense that can hurt a defense just goes on and on and on. Darrelle Revis and Dwight Lowery, to this point, have done a pretty good job of shutting down the top line guys for the opposition. As for the D-line, Kris Jenkins’ back steadily improved as the week went on and he looks as if he’ll be just about 100 percent Sunday. A good thing for the Jets as, even though Boldin and Fitzgerald get most of the attention, Edgerrin James is still dangerous and he’s run well against the Jets in the past.

In the end, I picked the Chargers to win by 1 point last week and if it weren’t for those other 18 points, I would have been spot on. This week I see some back-and-forth early but…

a 27-17 Jets victory.

We move to the other games, with my best bet in CAPS and this public service announcement: all picks are against the spread and should only be used by me for any actual cash wager:


Jets, Eagles, Jaguars, Titans, Raiders, Cowboys, Chiefs, Saints, Bucs, Steelers, BENGALS, Panthers, Bills.

Some other things:

* Random Act of Randomness: I just heard Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd, talking about the current economic morass, say on television, “We are where we are.” That's obviously a hybrid of the hideously hackneyed “it is what it is,” which needs to be stricken from public - and private - discourse immediately. Eric Mangini uses “it is what it is” on occasion, as do some of his players, but it’s not a situation unique to the Jets.

* Speaking of need-to-be-redacted phrases, can media people please, please stop using, “New York FOOTBALL Giants” as if they’re saying or writing something creative or funny? “New York Giants” probably works just fine. No one’s been confused about the football/baseball thing for a good 50 years or so.

* That out of the way, off to the colleges, because after Sunday, Saturday is the best day of the weekend.

A conversation late Thursday afternoon between Jets PR person Bruce Speight and myself.

B. Speight: “People are saying this is the best team Pete Carroll’s ever had at USC and maybe one of the best college teams ever. You buying?”

Me: “No.”

And that was one of the longer convos I’ve had with Bruce, who for some reason, still requires his poor interns – Matt Hintz, Christie Upton and Jeanette Owusu – to read this blog for snippets. Of what, I don’t know.

Anyway, in no way did I have Oregon State winning last night, but I did have the cover and that’s what we’re all about in this here space. Three quickies for Saturday:

* Notre Dame is still terrible, but Purdue hasn’t had a good defense since shutting down USC in the 1966 season’s Rose Bowl, and I see big numbers for Jimmy Clausen. The Irish can’t stop anyone so Purdue QB Curtis Painter should put up some nice stats himself, but I like Notre Dame, at home, having enough to become the worst 3-1 team in the nation.

I see Penn State, at home, beating Illinois, BUT the cover number (14 ½ today) is too big for me so we’ll go with Illinois as the ATS pick. And in the big one Saturday night, Nick Saban, like him or not, can coach a little and has Alabama poised for a return to national championship contention. But not yet. Georgia’s just flat out better. I’ll take the Bulldogs by 8 or so [Update: at 31-0 Alabama in the second, I determined this to be a really bad pick].

Talk to you Sunday.

Hey guys! Katie Strang here to give E-Bola the day off today. I know he broke this yesterday, but Mangini confirmed today the Jets will be donning their throwback Titans uniforms as a nod to the history of the organization.

The team practiced in the indoor field today. Both Jenkins and Favre were moving well and participating in the portion we were allowed to watch.

Here are some of the more interesting nuggets from Mangini's presser:

On Boldin/Fitzgerald:

A couple of plays in the Miami game illustrated how impressive they are, where Bolden can hurt you on the catch and run or he can get deep on you. Fitzgerald makes a great catch on the corner in tight coverage and was able to avoid the safety and go down and score, so they’re difficult to deal with. It’s a function of being sound and understanding what we’re trying to do on defense, not giving them too much pre-snap information and respecting and appreciating the things they’re gonna do out of different formations.

Edgerrin James and Arizona’s O-Line:

He’s a very good back and has great vision. He can create some holes, and not [just] necessarily create some holes, but see some things that other backs can’t see and he’s able to hit them. He’s a physical running back which carries him for yards after contact and it’s an aggressive offensive line.

On Jenkins’ progress:

He participated in practice yesterday, and he’s been on a consistent treatment program, so we’ll keep going with that and see where he is on Sunday.

Do you expect him to be ready to go on Sunday?

Yeah, I expect him to be ready to go on Sunday and really I always expect those guys to be ready to go on Sunday, but you just have to see how it unfolds. Each guy is different. Each injury is different. Each timetable is different.

What Calvin Pace adds to the pass rush:

Pass rush is so tied in to coverage. He does have some flexibility to not just rush effectively, but drop into coverage effectively in zone coverages, and play most guys man- to- man. In terms of size, he’s an ideal size, but he’s very fluid for his size, so it gives you a lot of flexibility.

Happy Friday to all. Try to enjoy the weekend despite the weather!

First, to the particulars of practice.

Brett Favre looked much, much more comfortable on his left ankle today. The injury report doesn’t come out until 4 p.m. and he very well could be listed as limited again, but Favre, in the 35 minutes we were able to watch practice, did more than he did yesterday. Still a slight limp, but a definite improvement.

We’ll have to wait until the injury report on Kris Jenkins as well. We saw him participate in position drills but nothing in full team drills. It doesn’t mean he didn’t at all, just in the time we were outside at practice. But he was bouncing pretty fluidly from drill to drill.

* Many of you have asked about the current roster makeup and for good reason. Another reporter asked Mangini about that this morning.

“I think we have the most special teams players that don’t cover kicks of anybody in the league right now,” Mangini said. “Typically you have one punter, one kicker. Maybe a long snapper. But I’d say we tend to be more on the typical side when it’s all said and done.”

I followed up and asked if the Jets roster situation – four kickers and four QBs – “hampers” the team in terms of options for building depth elsewhere.

“Yeah, it does,” Mangini said. “I mean whenever you have two punters, two kickers, four quarterbacks, someone has to give a show. Someone has to practice those other spots. And when you’re weeding out the latter roster spots with specialists, you don’t have the same depth that you’d normally have.”

And this will continue for how long?

“Depends on treatment, performance, all that stuff.”

I tried.

Mangini, who did confirm Ben Graham would punt Sunday, gave a funny answer when asked about Favre’s sudden reluctance Wednesday to talk about his injured ankle.

“He’s coachable, he’s extremely coachable,” Mangini said with a smile. “Good job, Brett.”

* Cards’ QB Kurt Warner is impressed with the Jets young corners, Darrelle Revis and Dwight Lowery.

“I’ve been impressed watching them on film,” Warner said earlier on a conference call. “I think they do a good job. I think they’re in position to make a lot of plays. I’m still learning about them but what I’ve seen initially on film, I think they’re going to be good for awhile with them being so young and so talented at this stage. I think they’re going to be a good group.”

* Calvin Pace on if he has had this game, against his former team, circled on the calendar: “I was looking forward to it. I am still looking forward to it. It’s not anything about revenge. I am looking forward to going out and playing against a lot of old friends to compete to have a good time against those guys.”

* Cardinals DE Bertrand Berry, the team leader with three sacks, has been sent back to Arizona and, hence, declared out for Sunday’s game with a tear in his groin.

* They haven’t announced it yet but the Jets apparently will be wearing their throwback Titans uniforms against the Cardinals. They were wearing the dark blue helmets today at practice.

* Each Thursday a different beat reporter picks the type of place that caters lunch in the press room here at Fort Florham. Today Mark Cannizzaro of the Post selected Italian, which brought Broccolini's, from nearby Madison, N.J., into our lives. To paraphrase the old knight from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Cannizzaro chose “wisely.”

I believe Hutch from the Star Ledger has next week’s selection. Pressure’s on.

* Kerry Rhodes on his recently joining the advisory board for the New York Dragons of the AFL: “It’s a good opportunity. Outside of my football stuff, its an opportunity for me to be a savvy person in the business world. You need some of that for once you’re done with football, once your career’s over. It was a good chance to become part of something I like doing, football, and have a little control over.”

Naturally, I had to ask Rhodes which side he would come down on in his first player/contract dispute.

“Oh, man,” Rhodes laughed. “I’m going to have to think about that one.”

* Katie Strang (K-Strang) is back at the Fort covering for me tomorrow. I'll check in with the Friday Picks Post.

Headed out for practice in a moment but this little bit of news: Eric Mangini, at the end of his morning press conference, announced the Jets had signed Hank Poteat and waived Will Montgomery. Not to speculate - okay, just a little - but that's strange timing, bringing a guy in on a Thursday. Might there be someone banged up that we don't know about? Possibly/probably/maybe, but the Jets are a mess at safety right now - and haven't covered the slot well at all - so, regardless, the move makes sense, although I kind of liked Montgomery's potential. Back after practice.

Busy day today in Jersey. Eric Mangini talks at 10:15, then we have player access and practice after that. Following yet another fine press room lunch (that is not sarcasm, btw, the food has been really, really good here. See my entry on the Chinese Jazz place from last week), we’ll have Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt and quarterback Kurt Warner on conference call. Remember, after their game in Washington last week, the Cardinals decided to stay on the East Coast this week, practicing in Tysons Corner, Va.

For some reason, I left this out of some of the Favre stuff I wrote yesterday and I thought it was interesting. I know some fans have already slipped into “Same Old Jets” mode – not all but some – and Favre, apparently, is aware of that.

In response to a question asking if he’s had any self-doubt – in light of the Jets slow start – about his decision to return, Favre showed a surprising grasp of his new fan base.

“I think what’s entered into my mind, which I think right or wrong – it is what it is – is my feelings that maybe the fans or the people associated with this team or have some interest in this team, may have lost [some hope],” Favre said. “[They’re saying] ‘Well, they’re 1-2, here we go again.’ My hope is that’s not the case.”

Back with reports from the day later.

* An aside: We’ll be back to our regular live chat schedule [we had one??] next Tuesday at 11 a.m. This week, because of the Monday night game, our schedule and biorhythms were thrown into flux, making a chat unfeasible. So we’re back at it next Tuesday. Although I’ll throw an asterisk (*) in here because with that being the Jets bye week, there might be some schedule alterations regarding the team I’m not yet aware of. It’ll all work out.

Before we begin, Marcus Henry was added to the practice squad, as was WR Paul Raymond.

On to the day…

Asked directly about Kris Jenkins and Brett Favre’s availability for Sunday, Eric Mangini said this:

“Yeah, I anticipate both those guys playing.”

Jenkins in the locker room confirmed that he possibly could have re-entered Monday’s game, something Mangini said during his conference call Tuesday.

Jenkins’ injury, announced in the press box Monday as his back, was something Jenkins said he has dealt with before.

“It’s just something I have to get through,” Jenkins said. “I know how to get through it, though. I’ll be fine.”

Jenkins, for what it’s worth, didn’t look terribly limited during the agility drills we saw at practice. UPDATE: the reason I always put in the "35 minutes that we saw" qualifiers when I talk about practice is for this reason: on the recently-released injury report - at 4 p.m. - Jenkins was listed as having not practiced, meaning he didn't participate in any full team drills.

* Getting back to Favre, he was favoring his left ankle during the portion of practice we were able to watch, but seeing him in the locker room before practice, he wasn’t limping nearly as much as he was right after Monday’s game when we saw him.

Side story that only I care about, but it’s my blog: before Favre came in to the interview room, I said to Greg Bishop of the Times, “I guarantee Mangini talked to Favre and he suddenly won’t be as open about his condition.”

See, Favre has twice committed no-nos – fineable offenses here, actually – by talking about physical ailments; once during training camp when he said his arm felt “fatigued” and after Monday’s game when he not only said he had “rolled” his ankle, he specified which one!

I had a feeling that would lead to a stern talking to from Mangini and…..

“I’ve been down this road before, not only with an ankle injury, but with a lot of injuries,” Favre said. “I respect Eric. He wants us to refer those type of questions to him. I understand that.”

Hil-lar-i-ous.

Here, Brett, is how you answer an injury question, courtesy of Jenkins:

“I’m getting treatment on it. I’m not at liberty to go into detail about anything, but we’ll take it day by day. I’m just doing the best I can. I’m not on IR (smile) so it’s a plus.”

Anyway, Favre, who once played through a broken thumb in Green Bay, said he might be limited somewhat in practice this week - and was pretty limited in his activity during the part of practice we saw - but that he would likely be making consecutive start No. 257 Sunday. Not that continuing the streak is motivation.

“I would hope I would never go into a game and play to continue a streak even though I felt like I would hamper the team with this injury, or a broken thumb or whatever,” Favre said. “My philosophy has always been, if you feel like you can play and not hinder the team one bit, then try at least.”

More from Favre in tomorrow’s paper, of course.

* Also from the locker room, Ben Graham on how quickly things change in the NFL: “Quite the turn of events, I guess. First time, this is my 18th professional year as a sportsman, and it’s the first time I’ve been released. And certainly the first time I’ve been re-signed within a week.”

Graham understood why he was released.

“I had a bad game against the Patriots,” he said.

Has the situation been awkward?

“It’s awkward but the guys are great, they understand the situation. They’re happy to have me back, for how long, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”

* Kerry Rhodes said after two straight losses he, and everyone else, is ready to play again.

“I wish we could play today, except my body’s not ready yet,” Rhodes said. “We want to get out and try to get that bad taste out of out mouths from the game Monday. It’s another chance to prove we’re a good team, that we can get it done. We want to get out there.”

I had to ask the “desperate” question, seeing the liberal use of that word last week in reference to the Chargers.

“Not desperate yet, but we do need to get back on track and get a win,” Rhodes said. “That’s pretty evident, but we’re not desperate. It’s only three games into the season and we still know we have a good team. We’re going to try to get that effort out and show you guys so you all can believe that, too. But we still have faith in ourselves.”

* An aside: I officially banned “win-now team” from this blog for all descriptions of the Jets back before training camp started and we’ve done okay with that. The next one on the cliché hit list: Any sentence structure that contains Brett Favre and his receivers, “getting on the same page.”

I'll try to set a good example.

* Anything happen with the Giants today?

Good morning from Fort Florham or, for short, The Fort. But not the short fort.

First, thanks to Rod Boone for filling in yesterday and writing about Eric Mangini’s conference call. Before getting to today’s schedule, the Jets made some alterations to their practice squad yesterday afternoon while I was flying home: punter Waylon Prather and tight end Brad Listorti were both waived. No announcements were made on their replacements, though my guess is one of them could be WR Marcus Henry, who you remember was waived over the weekend when Ben Graham was signed. Henry walked past the media to the locker room after the game Monday night in San Diego, leading me to believe when he was waived, it was one of those “We’re cutting you but…” situations. We’ll see.

As for Prather, he clearly didn’t impress anyone after Reggie Hodges got dinged in practice Wednesday. I saw Prather hit a couple of wayward boots Thursday and Katie Strang reported the same here on Friday. Still, waiving Prather doesn’t solve the more immediate issue of the strange active roster configuration that includes, as of now, carrying four quarterbacks and four kickers.

Anyway, to today’s schedule:

Eric Mangini will talk at 10:15 and Brett Favre will follow. After that we head to the locker room and then out to practice. I posted this quote from David Bowens after Monday night’s game and I think it pretty much summarizes the theme of the week: learning from Monday, but moving on.

“We have to come in Wednesday, get on the Arizona film and we have to get together collectively,” Bowens said. “Talk it out collectively the way it’s going to happen on the field. Have a good practice on Wednesday. It has to start first thing Wednesday morning. We’re going to be a little ticked off about this on the flight home. It’s going to be a long one, but you have to turn the page on it. And the only way to get back on track and get our swagger back is to turn the page and get ready for Wednesday.”

Make no mistake, this is the first real adversity of the season for Mangini and it will be interesting to see how the team responds to him. I had a reader ask about how Mangini is in the locker room and players have said he’s very similar to how he is with the press, only more forthcoming with information, obviously. But the larger point is there’s no fire and brimstone, but players say he has a way of getting his points across. Coming off two bad performances, Sunday against Arizona will begin to truly show that. The headlines have been pretty flattering regarding this team since Aug. 6 when the deal was done for Brett Favre and those headlines didn’t completely disappear after the loss to New England in Week 2. But they sure did after Monday night.

But it got me to thinking about a question Mangini was asked leading into the New England game, which to paraphrase was this: What makes Bill Belichick so effective at overcoming adversity?

“Bill does a great job of getting everybody on exactly the same page in terms of what's important,” Mangini said. “That's all it's about. What's important, and what's important now, nothing about the past, nothing about the future. When you get a group of people doing that and really understanding what has to be done to win the game, it's powerful. Bill does an excellent job with that.”

I’ll return with a report on the Mangini/Favre pressers, along with the goings-on in the locker room and practice. A rally-the-troops week if there ever was one…

As our buddy munches on peanuts and potato chips that he probably had to pay for on the cross country flight back from that paradise known as Southern Cali, I've been entrusted to give you loyal readers of E. (Coca) Bola's blog today's news. Well, here's the latest updates on Gang Green.

Just got off a conference call with Eric Mangini a few minutes ago. He was coy, as always, when asked about injuries to ironman Brett Favre (ankle) and massive nose guard Kris Jenkins (back). He said both got treatment early this morning not long after the Jets touched down somewhere in the 7:30 to 8 o'clock range and that Favre was going to receive more treatment.

Mangini didn't seem too worried about Favre's status for Sunday against Arizona, saying Brett usually plays and he would anticipate him suiting up this weekend. Is Mangini saying that because of Favre's ironman reputation or is No. 4's injury not considered that serious?

"I think it’s elements of both," Mangini said. "I will definitely know more this evening. But I’d say the elements of both are why I feel comfortable saying that."

Don't worry Jets fans. Looks like Jenkins will be OK. Here's Mangini on Jenkins:
"There were times last night where we thought Kris could come back in. It just didn't quite get to the point where we were ready to do that. He was close throughout course of the game and so I'm hoping that with time and treatment that will move along well."

As for the punting situation, which is a bit weird to say the least, Mangini talked about a conversation he had with Ben Graham after the the Jets decided to go in a different direction. Reggie Hodges was signed to replace Graham and came up lame with a thigh injury in practice last week.

The convo with Graham went something like this: "Things change quickly. And they could easily change back quickly."

"l didn't anticipate it changing back that quickly," Mangini said, "but it did and ironically he had gone to San Diego to work out with Darren Bennett. And he was in San Diego late in the week. So he didn't even have to get on a flight."

So how did that conversation on inviting him back to the team go, you might ask?
"It went well," Mangini said. "And the conversation even initially went well. He’s a pro, he’s a gentlemen, he’s a friend. And it’s difficult. When you say it went well, it went well for a difficult conversation and you don't like to have that conversation with anybody. But then you do like to have the other conversations where you are able to deliver positive news. And he had been out working out and preparing for whatever his next opportunity was. It just happened that we were his next opportunity and we were flying in later that afternoon."

The Jets will carry two punters for the short term, Mangini said, until this thing shakes itself out.

-- Here's one more thing for you guys. This is Mangini on the onside kick: "One of the things we had outlined going into the game was when we wanted to do it. So all those things came together. The look was right. I felt good about the kick. It was the right time of the game in terms of momentum. Now, you've got to go and execute it. But after looking at it tape, I would do the same thing again."

Ok, time to bang out a story for the paper before I turn on the tube and watch the Mets add another page to their newest book: The Great Collapse II: The 2008 Version.

Obviously haven’t had a chance to watch the tape of tonight’s game but a few things...

Some random statistics:

Yards rushing: Jets 41; San Diego 107
Third down conversions: Jets 1-for-8; San Diego 9-for-13.
Sacks: Jets 0; Chargers 3
The Jets had nine kickoff returns for 291 yards. Leon Washington is the star of the game, hands down. Decent job by both Jerricho Cotchery (10 catches, 76 yards) and Lavaranues Coles (6 catches, 75 yards). Tough to find anything to highlight on the defensive side when the opponent puts up 48 (really 41 with the INT return for a TD) but the defensive line didn’t have an awful night against the run.

Let’s see…

* Brett Favre, who said he rolled his left ankle and had X-rays on it afterward – “I’m fine,” he said, though he later added "I'll probably feel horrible tomorrow – went 30-for-42 for 271 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions, one of which went back 52 yards for a touchdown. His counterpart, Philip Rivers, went 19-for-25 for 250 yards with three touchdowns and ONE interception (yes, I wrote 'zero' last night. As frequent blog readers know, typos in my longer blog posts can be frequent. oops.). The Jets hardly got any pressure on Rivers and he carved them up underneath and over the top when he had to. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more open receiver than Chris Chambers on his 27-yard second quarter touchdown reception.

* Again, the lone positive for the Jets defense: with Jenkins in the game, the Chargers could hardly run. Yes, the Chargers had 107 total rushing yards but it averaged out to a 3.1 per-carry average. Darren Sproles finished with a 7.6 per carry average (5 attempts, 38 yards), but most of that came with Jenkins out. Let’s be clear: the Jets lose this game with or without Jenkins and had he not gotten hurt, the way the Jets were turning the ball over and NOT covering receivers, all it would have meant would have been a 300-plus yard game for Rivers.
Jenkins, by the way, after the game said he wasn’t sure what happened, nor how long he would be out. It was announced in a the press box as a back injury. For what it’s worth, Jenkins didn’t appear to be favoring anything nor did he sound as if he thought it was anything serious. You usually don't see those guys hanging around the locker room afterward when it is.

* Mangini on the onside kick after the Jets had pulled to 17-14: “They had an overload look and we wanted to do it after a momentum change situation like a touchdown. We thought that we had that situation there. They had an overload look, they weren’t adjusting over, so we had more guys than they had. We thought we had a shot at it.”

Like the call or not, Wallace Wright was in position and touched the ball first on that onside attempt. And argument can be made that the Jets should have just kicked deep there, but they should have come up with the ball there. Period.

* Thomas Jones on the game: “We never gave up. Guys were still trying to score points and trying to get within a couple of scores to get ourselves back in the game. We have a lot of character on this team. Unfortunately we didn’t get the win but all you can do after a game like this is look at the things you messed up and try to correct them.”

* Favre on still learning the offense: “No excuses from my end tonight to say I’m still learning the offense. I, as well as the rest of the offense, made some mistakes at times, whether it be protection issues, wrong read, throwing to the wrong guy, whatever. Those are things that are not a reflection at all of knowing the offense. That was just…I made bad plays. But our offensive line is very good, our receivers are very good, TJ’s a heck of a running back, but when you fall behind, you put yourself in a position where you have to lean more on the pass; whether you’re ready for it or not, we kind of had to go to it.”

* More Favre: “This team has good character, now we need to find a way to use that in ball games. I don’t think anyone who watched the game tonight can question that on either side of the field. That can only get you so far. We came together. We can do that and continue to do what we’re doing. Ultimately we’re judged by wins and losses, we all know that, but this team can be a very good football team. I really believe that, and it’s a matter of how quickly we can put it together.”

* Not that it was all rah- rah afterward. Not even close.

David Bowens: “It’s about game plans and it’s about understanding what we have to do in all three phases of the game, but also it comes down to guys being accountable, understanding what they have to do to win the game.”

How do the Jets get some swagger and confidence back? “It starts Wednesday,” Bowens said. “We have to come in Wednesday, get on the Arizona film and we have to get together collectively. Talk it out collectively the way it’s going to happen on the field. Have a good practice on Wednesday. It has to start first thing Wednesday morning. We’re going to be a little ticked off about this on the flight home. It’s going to be a long one, but you have to turn the page on it. And the only way to get back on track and get our swagger back is to turn the page and get ready for Wednesday.”

Probably a good thing this is a short week.

Last thing: most observers thought this team would be 1-2 after the first three weeks so take a breath here. But at the same time, there weren't a lot of good things to take from this one. And anyone who thinks Arizona on Sunday is an automatic W is kidding themselves. Their top receivers might be better than what the Jets saw tonight in San Diego.

Anyway, Rod Boone will covering Jets-land for me tomorrow, which entails a conference call with Eric Mangini. No practice as it is still an off day. I’ll be flying cross-country while that conference is going on, so I'm back with you Wednesday morning from Fort Florham.

Stephen Haynes here to hijack Erik's blog for a few hours and schmooze with you on a Monday night. Television told me that the Jets have a big game tonight. True?

On paper, the Chargers are the better team. On paper, the Chargers should be – and maybe will be – contenders for the AFC title. But it matters naught because the Chargers, right now, are a wounded team. They’re a Bugatti with a clunking transmission. For the second week in a row, the Jets have caught the wrong team at the right time.

Pro-Bowl nose tackle Jamal Williams, whom the Chargers 3-4 defense relies heavily on, is dealing with a bad knee and thus far, hasn’t been able to dominate the interior line. It’s shown in opponents’ 5.4 yards per carry average against San Diego. Star pass-rusher Shawne Merriman is out. Marcus McNeil, arguably the best run-blocking left tackle in the NFL, has been held back with a neck injury and will be starting his first game of the season. Former Pro-Bowl center Nick Hardwick is out with a foot injury. All-everything running back LaDainian Tomlinson has a busted little piggy that’s crying “Wee-wee-wee.”

They’ve also been star-crossed. A last-second desperation heave by Jake Delhomme cost them in Week 1, and a couple blown calls last week downed them against the Broncos.

If there’s a game for the Jets to open up the offense, it’s this one. Granted, the San Diego secondary is full of ballhawks and playmakers. Brett Favre has the propensity to make reckless throws at times and the Chargers have guys who can catch – and do something with it afterwards. But the Jets can’t go in fearing that defense. A defense that’s giving up 32.5 points per game (fourth worst in the league), the second most passing yards (293.5), and that has just one interception and two sacks.

The alternate strategy could be to be extra conservative, control the clock and try to limit the chances that Philip Rivers (122.5 QB rating, six touchdowns), Tomlinson, Darren Sproles, Antonio Gates and Chris Chambers get. But that’s an explosive offense with quick-strike ability. The Jets need to be aggressive and, at least at the outset, be in attack mode. Because facing 0-3 and a Broncos resurgence in their division, it would stand to reason that the Chargers come out fired up and looking to throw the flurry.

All that said…

Keys to the game
Offense

- OC Brian Schottenheimer must try to get Favre into an early rhythm and let the pass set up the run. Thomas Jones has gotten off to a decent start and San Diego’s run defense hasn’t, plus the Jets have been conservative through two games. Which means the Chargers probably made run-stuffing a point of emphasis last week and could be gearing up for the run. If the Jets come out throwing, maybe they can catch them off guard. With their down-hill (weird saying, considering the field is flat), attacking defense, the Chargers are sometimes susceptible to play-action.

San Diego has been done in by bad luck (they're still seething about Ed Hochuli’s fumble-recovery-but-not-a-turnover call) and, more importantly, bad defense. An early deficit might dishearten them.

- Work Dustin Keller into the offense. He isn’t a good blocker, so him on the field might be a tip-off to the defense, but he’s too dynamic a weapon to keep on the bench. The Chargers linebackers are good at pass rushing, but they’re not the fastest bunch. Keller would have the speed advantage down field and would likely require safety attention. At the least, he could draw coverage deep and help open up some underneath routes for the receivers.

- Get Leon Washington more involved in the offense. He's touched the ball just 14 times (eight runs, six catches). He's the Jets version of Sproles and is a threat in space.

Defense

- Pressure Rivers. Sounds like it’s from the book of Ostensibly Obvious, and it applies to every quarterback, but Rivers is a rhythm passer who likes to attack the intermediate range and is very accurate when given time to throw. When pressured, however, his mechanics tend to fall apart. And he sometimes holds the ball too long. He was never a mobile quarterback and he’s even more of a sitting duck now, still recovering from off-season knee surgery. He still has a slight limp to his gait. The Jets need to test it.

- A good area to attack might be Rivers’ blind side. With Marcus McNeil likely dealing with some rust at left tackle, the Jets should keep the pressure on from that side and see if they can capitalize. Especially if Tomlinson isn’t able to play much. Sproles gives effort as a blocker (he’s butcher-like with the quick cut), but you wouldn’t think the 5'6", 181-pound fella can consistently hold off Calvin Pace and Bryan Thomas on the edges.

- Stuff the run with the front 7. With the addition of Chambers (25.5 yards per catch, three TDs) and the continued improvement of Vincent Jackson, the Chargers no longer have to rely on throwing 10-yard curls and post routes to Gates. Rivers can look to his receivers in that 15- to 25-yard range.

If the Jets wind up having to bring an eighth man to the line of scrimmage (likely Kerry Rhodes), it will put a lot of pressure on the corners and the Chargers utilize play-action very well. Rookie Dwight Lowery is physical and smart, but he might have his hands full dealing with the 6'5" Jackson.

Miscellaneous: Ben Graham, released after last week’s loss, was back before the Jets could miss him (would they have missed him?). Relativley picayune, but still an interesting story within the story. Let’s see how he does.

1st Quarter
- David Barrett picked off a Philip Rivers pass on the Chargers first drive and took it back 25 yards for a touchdown. 7-0, Jets.
- Nate Kaeding capped a 12-play, 53-yard Chargers drive with a 36-yard field goal. 7-3, Jets.
- Touchdown Chargers. Fullback Mike Tolbert scored on a 1-yard touchdown pass from Rivers. The score was setup by a Thomas Jones fumble (recovered by Quentin Jammer and returned 23 yards to the Jets 16), the Chargers capitalized with the five-play, 16-yard drive. 10-7, Chargers.

Highlights: The big plays in the first quarter were turnovers, as they often are. Rivers' telegraphed pass to Gates resulted in a pick-6 for David Barrett, and Jones' fumble setup the Chargers touchdown.

2nd Quarter
- Touchdown Chargers. Antonio Cromartie intercepts a Favre pass and takes it back 52 yards for a touchdown at 14:48. 17-7, Chargers.
- Touchdown Jets. Favre hit Laveranues Coles for a three-yard score at 13:50. The 2-play scoring drive was setup by a 94-yard kickoff return by Leon Washington. 17-14, Chargers.
- Touchdown Chargers. Chris Chambers scores on a 27-yard pass from Rivers at 11:17. 24-14, Chargers.
- Touchdown Chargers. Antonio Gates scored on a six-yard pass from Rivers at 3:17. The 10-play, 45-yard drive was setup by Eric Weddle's interception of Favre. 31-14, Chargers.

Highlights: Favre threw two interceptions in the quarter, which led to 14 points for San Diego. Chargers defensive end Luis Castillo left the field midway through the quarter with a knee injury. He was able to walk off on his own and didn't have much of a limp, though.

Half Time: 31-14, Chargers.

The turnovers (two interceptions and a fumble) have hurt the Jets as the Chargers have parlayed them into three touchdowns. It looks as if the Jets have opened up the passing game, with Favre taking some shots down field. However, he has made some poor decisions and has stared down his intended receiver a couple times. As well, Favre and Jerricho Cotchery haven't been able to get on the same page. Cotchery doesn't have a reception and one of the interceptions was due in part to a miscommunication (wrong route?) with him. Had it not been for a Cromartie drop (on what was a sure interception that would've been an easy run-back), the Jets would be trailing by 24. That's the danger of aggressive play-calling. Favre is 10-for-16 with 70 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.

Defensively, the Jets began to fall apart after Kris Jekins left the game. They don't have much (if any) quality depth at defensive tackle and, without Jenkins there to clog the middle and draw double teams, the rushing lanes off guard opened up in the second quarter (San Diego has 61 yards on the ground) and the pass rush has been almost nonexistent. Philip Rivers has yet to be sacked - hasn't faced much pressure - and he's 10-for-15 with three touchdowns.

3rd Quarter
- Touchdown Chargers. Tomlinson scored on a two-yard touchdown run to cap a seven-play, 79-yard drive to open the half. 38-14, Chargers.

Highlights: The Chargers kept the proverbial foot on the throat of the Jets, scoring on their first drive. Sproles (97 total yards) was the featured offensive player for them. He did a lot of the work on the scoring drive, getting the ball down to the 2 for Tomlinson ("Touchdown vulture!" cry the fantasy leaguers). The Jets offense continued to meander. They had an 11-play, 59-yard drive that started at 10:36, but it ended in the red zone with a turnover on downs (on another near-interception by a Chargers defensive back).

4th Quarter
- Touchdown Jets. Chansi Stuckey scored on a four-yard pass from Favre to end a 15-play, 83-yard drive. The Jets went for the two-pointer but didn't convert. 38-20, Chargers with 10:30 left.
- Field goal Jets. Jay Feely hits a 32-yard field goal to finish the six-play, 43-yard drive. There's 8:21 left in the game. After the Stuckey touchdown, Vernon Gholston recovered Feely's onside kick and a 41-yard catch-and-run by Coles got the Jets into the red zone. 38-23, Chargers
- Touchdown Chargers. Tomlinson powers in from the 2. The big play on the drive was a 60-yard pass from Rivers to Jackson. 45-23, Chargers
- Touchdown Jets. Dustin Keller catches a 13-yard pass from Favre; the rookie's first NFL touchdown. The Jets failed on three two-point conversion attempts (Chargers penalties gave them extra chances). Cotchery had a 54-yard kickoff return to help setup the touchdown. 45-29, Chargers with 3:09 left.
- Field goal Chargers. Nate Kaeding hits a 49-yard field goal. The drive, setup by the Jets failed attempt at an onside kick, went four plays and netted eight yards. 48-29, Chargers with 2:03 left.

Final: 48-29, Chargers

Recap: The score says it all. The Jets were thoroughly trounced and, adding injury to insult, NT Kris Jenkins got hurt. The defense looked inept at times and they were unable to get any crucial stops. As well, the offense turned it over too many times to give itself a chance against a high-scoring team.

Favre finished 30-for-42 with 271 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. Jones had just 10 carries for 37 yards and had a costly fumble in the first quarter. Leon Washington had one carry for -1 yard. Cotchery led all receivers with 10 catches for 76 yards. David Harris led the Jets with 10 tackles

Rivers completed 19 of 25 for 250 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Tomlinson carried 26 times for 67 yards and two touchdowns. Jackson was the Chargers leading receiver with three catches for 74 yards (60 on one play). Cromartie starred on defense, finishing with nine tackles and two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown.

The Jets fall to 1-2 and the Chargers improve to 1-2.